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Originally Posted by Monahammer
So when smith had a stacked loss to win record and bSD was like 10-1-2, why did the coaching staff choose to continually interrupt Dave's hot streaks to try and start up Mike smith? Honest question because if it worked as you say it did, we would have gone like 3 months without seeing smith. That did not occur.
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You would have to ask the coaches, but as I have maintained since November I expect that it is directly tied to the fact that Rittich is young and a first-year NHL starting goalie. The goalies are not treated exactly the same because they they are not exactly the same. One is just starting his career and the other is approaching the end of his.
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But now that smith has strung together two victories against some #### teams (his only +.9% games in the last 5 are against Arizona and florida, while against Pitts Washington and SJ he was around .87) hes vindicated and on a hot streak we shouldnt interrupt because that's the way it is??
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That is not at all what I am saying, and I have already stated that my preference would be to start Rittich tonight. My guess is that there are things occurring behind the scenes and in practice that coaches take into serious consideration when naming a starter—especially given their situation and the time of year.
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It does not add up and so I'm calling BS on your take.
We dont know what the coaches or management are telling him, you're right. But I am not sure I would be buying it if I were him. 
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It does indeed add up if you manage to see past your own righteous indignation to consider the manifold variables that can affect a player's performance and mindset over the course of a hockey season.